The Berlin Consensus

I swear sometimes the best reading of the week is in The Economist letters page:

SIR – The prolonged success of the German economy is always an inconvenient reality for thosewho support a broadly Anglo-American approach to economic management, such as The Economist (“A machine running smoothly”, February 5th). If liberal labour markets, low taxes and worship at the altar of shareholder value were the key determinants of success, you would be writing about the glittering future awaiting Britain and the United States, not Germany.

The truth is that the Germans are successful because their companies are well managed by competent, educated employees who care more about whether the company will exist in a quarter-century rather than just the next quarterly earnings.

Maximina Yun
London